Blood Slave: A Realm Walker Novel (9 page)

She blinked as she processed what he’d just said. “That’s not much of a choice. I’m on assignment in Kansas City, in River Market.”

“Very good. I will think of a half-truth to feed Thomas. And I think that’s enough work for one day,” he said much to her relief. He helped her to her feet and wrapped her in a hug. Finally he released her and stepped back. “Same time, day after tomorrow.”

She kept her groan to herself knowing from experience if she protested he’d just add another session. “See you then.” She pressed the dragonfly on the pendant and the portal opened. With a wave goodbye, she stepped through to the loft, doing her best to ignore the sickening fear that had taken up residence in her belly. She could only hope that James kept his word and she would have a little more time before Thomas hunted her down.

Chapter Nine

Thomas glanced at his phone when it rang. It was the call he’d been waiting for.

“James,” he said by way of greeting.

“She’s somewhere in the Midwest.”

Irritation flooded Thomas that his brother-in-law couldn’t be more specific. “Beyond my territory?”

“The spell in that necklace is an old one, and an expensive one. By the nature of what it is, it makes her harder to follow. I have a tracker working on it, but it’ll take time. Given how very little of the Midwest you actually control, I would say it’s likely she’s in someone else’s area.”

Thomas hung up and released a string of curses. Damn the woman. Didn’t she understand that there was protocol that must be followed? She was his mate, they were United and she couldn’t just enter someone else’s territory without making herself known. On the other hand, the person she was investigating could be the very one she was to report to. He groaned in irritation. Juliana complicated everything.

He reached out with his senses. She still had her walls firmly in place, but at least he had assured himself that she was alive. For the moment anyway. With her, he could never be certain how long that would last.

He called Michael and waited impatiently for him to pick up the phone. “Yes?” he finally answered.

“Contact our associates in the Midwest. I need to find Juliana.”

“I thought James was working on that.”

“He claims to be, but I know between my mate and myself, his loyalties lie with her. He may not tell me where she is until he thinks she needs assistance. And our opinions of when that is may be very different.”

There was a pause. “I’ll put the word out and let you know if I hear anything.”

Thomas had no sooner hung up the phone than another call came in. Juliana.

“Where are you?” he answered and cringed even as he did so. She was unlikely to respond well to demands.

“Hello to you, too.”

Pain settled itself between his eyes and he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Hello,
Joya
. Better?”

“Better. And I’m fine.”

“That is not what I asked.”

“No, but it’s what you really want to know.”

Irritation slithered through him like a snake ready to strike. “Why do you play these games with me? Have I not proven that I will support you, protect you?”

“Believe it or not, this has nothing to do with you.” Annoyance colored her voice. “This is about me working undercover, which would be decidedly hard to do with Thomas Kendrick attached to me. This is about me not turning to you every time things get difficult.”

His shoulders sagged as fatigue swamped him. He wasn’t going to be able to change her mind and, at the moment, he wasn’t sure he wanted to. “Do you have so little faith in me that you felt it necessary to lie about where you were headed? Do you not believe that I would give you the space you needed to do your job? This conversation tires me,
Joya
, I must go. Just…call me if you need me.” He hung up without waiting for a response.

***

“You’re quiet,” Nathaniel said as they drove to the feeder club that night.

“Sorry,” she said but didn’t elaborate. The truth was Thomas’s words kept playing over and over in her head. She had hurt him, that much was evident and she didn’t know how to fix it. As much as she loved her mate, she was still a complete idiot when it came to relationships. She always seemed to be doing or saying the wrong thing. Maybe she should just quit overthinking everything so much and do what she wanted. If she had, Thomas would be here with her now and none of this would be an issue.

“According to the little information we’ve gathered, at least two of our vics frequented this place. Probably more given the nature of the establishment.” Nathaniel joined the queue waiting to park. Finally, he pulled up in front of the club and a valet opened Juliana’s door. She stood looking at the building, taking it all in. Three stories tall, it was painted black and the windows were darkly tinted. ‘Gluttony’ was scrawled across the front in a dark blue script. Nathaniel placed his hand on her arm and steered her toward the door. They both showed their ID to the pair of bouncers and Nathaniel paid their cover. After entering, they stepped to one side to get out of the way and just took in the scene before them.

Music vibrated through the room and people teemed on the floor or sat at the tables around the perimeter. Lights flashed and bodies writhed against each other in a twisted version of a mating ritual. What set this place apart from every other club Juliana had been in was the open feeding going on around the room. Vampires drank from wrists and throats next to business men sucking down martinis. No wonder Kansas City had such a large vampire population if this was the kind of establishment that welcomed them. Morgan had made a haven for depravity here. They never had to deny themselves or control their natures. This was the kind of shit that made Thomas livid. The kind of environment that he felt bred trouble. And Juliana had a handful of blood slave zombies that proved his point.

A familiar face caught Juliana’s attention. Bobby, the regular she’d met at Lust, was smiling down at a petite blonde with a pixie haircut. He’d cleaned up since Juliana saw him last. His dark hair was slicked back, every hair in place and he was clean shaven. The suit he wore was a welcome upgrade from his jeans and t-shirt as well. He laughed at something his companion said and his fangs were on full display. She hadn’t known he was a vampire. She hated not being able to use her gift but glowing eyes didn’t exactly help her fly under the radar.

Nathaniel touched her arm and indicated with a wave of his hand that he was going to circle the room to the right. She nodded and tipped her head to the left. They could meet up in the middle. She looked back to Bobby just in time to see him take the blonde by the hand and lead her into a curtained alcove. That was undoubtedly for those that wanted to get a little more intimate. Or drink their meal in peace.

Her view was suddenly blocked by a dark t-shirt covered chest. She shifted her gaze upward to find the man in front of her smiling down at her. A bit of fang showed between his lips and she corrected that to vampire. He was handsome enough she supposed though his features were a little too angular for her, the look in his eye a little too calculating. He bowed his head in greeting, making his long brown hair swing forward. “I am Peter,” he said.

She returned the nod and stepped sideways to move around him but he mirrored the movement.

“And you are?”

“Not interested.”

The corner of his mouth curved up in a smile. “Of course you are or you wouldn’t be here.”

He had a point. The people that came through these doors wanted to feed or wanted to be food. Sure some were just here to observe but weren’t they really the ones that just hadn’t worked up the nerve to take that final step? She couldn’t very well admit her true reasons for being here. Ducking her head, she did her best to give the impression she was shy. Maybe he’d lose interest and disappear.

When he trailed his fingers up her arm she realized that she’d miscalculated. If anything, her shyness had only made him more interested. He leaned forward placing his lips next to her ear. “I’ll be gentle.”

She looked up again, meeting his eyes. “No, thank you.”

“Or I can be rough if that is your preference, though you hardly look the type.”

With effort, she resisted the urge to show him just rough she could be. “Like I said before, not interested.”

When she moved to step past him this time, his hand shot out and grasped her wrist. A pulse of power flashed through her tattoo and the vampire jerked his hand back, eyes narrowing on her. Interesting, the protective ward must have kicked in. Was it because Peter meant her harm or was the ward simply reacting to the fact she didn’t want him touching her? “Sorry,” she said and pushed past him, eager to find Nathaniel.

As she moved around the room she glanced back to find Peter still looking at her. A tremor of unease moved through her at his expression. He was furious. She slammed into a wall and gasped in surprise. Warm hands grabbed her arms to steady her and she realized it wasn’t a wall but a person. She tore her eyes from Peter only to find Bobby smiling down at her. “Jennifer? You okay?”

She managed to return his smile and nod her head. “Yeah, sorry. Guess I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

He let go of her but didn’t move away. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.”

Her eyes darted around the room, finding Nathaniel in the crowd as he wove through them. “First time,” she answered turning her attention back to him. “It’s different. This kind of thing isn’t allowed where I come from.”

“And where’s that?”

“West.” It wasn’t much of an answer but everything west of here was Thomas’s territory, so she supposed it was answer enough.

“I imagine things are much different. Morgan is more…lenient than some of the other masters.” As he looked around the room, a touch of sadness colored his features. “Leniency is not always a good thing. I need to go. I’ll see you around, Jennifer.”

Her eyes followed him as he made his way toward the door. Peter stopped him and Juliana felt a moment of panic. But then again what could Bobby possibly be telling him about her. All Bobby knew was her fake first name and where she worked. If Peter showed up at Lust and tried anything, Cullen or Morgan would promptly remove him from the premises. She hoped anyway. Worst case scenario, she’d have to break character for a bit of ass kicking.

“Problem?” Nathaniel said next to her ear when he appeared beside her.

She glanced at him. “Not sure.” By the time she turned her attention back across the room, both vampires were nowhere to be seen.

***

Juliana sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. They had stuck around the club for another hour or so the night before, not discovering much. No one had been willing to confirm the girls had even been in the building before, never mind verifying who they went home with. It was disappointing, but she really hadn’t expected any different. Not only because vamps tended to look out for their own, but because it was far too simple for someone to just give them a name.

A growl came from across the room and Juliana glanced over to find Nathaniel playing tug of war with Fifi. She hoped he was being gentle. The only thing worse than having a zombie Pomeranian in the apartment would be having zombie Pomeranian parts in the apartment. “There’s coffee,” Nathaniel said without taking his attention from his playmate. Well, there was one bit of good news.

After they’d gotten home the night before, they’d stayed awake until dawn poring over the files, looking for any leads but hadn’t had any luck. The problem was, most of the families hadn’t seen the girls in months to years and most of their friends had proven decidedly unwilling to talk to the authorities. Generally the first step in a murder investigation was rebuilding the victims’ lives, looking for connections. Thus far they’d found precious little. 

She shuffled into the kitchen, poured herself a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter as she took the first long swallow. The bitter liquid burned her throat going down but did little to chase away her fatigue. “What’s on your agenda for today? Besides playing with zombie mutt?”

Nathaniel tossed the rope bone he’d been playing with to the side and stood up from the couch. He stretched, arching his back and groaned. He sounded like an old man. Then again, considering his age, she supposed he was. Ancient by human standards. Her lips twitched at the thought and she hid her smile behind her coffee cup. If he knew what she’d been thinking, he’d make her life miserable for at least the next century or so. “We’ve been trying this covert shit and it’s not working. I’m going to take the pics around to some of the local places, see if we get a hit. I’ll play concerned relative, not nosy cop.”

“Just keep it out of Lust. They know you there. I’m going to keep doing the covert shit as you so eloquently put it.”

***

It hadn’t taken long for Juliana to learn that only a couple of the girls wore their uniforms into work. Everyone else got there early and changed in the back. She’d just finished changing and was lacing up her boots when Candy sat next to her. Juliana looked around like she didn’t want to be overheard though she really didn’t care one way or the other. She leaned toward the other girl as if she was about to impart some great secret. “So, the girl that I replaced, what happened to her?”

A look of surprise flashed over Candy’s face, then she shrugged and turned away. “What would make you think anything happened?”

“Because that’s the kind of answer I keep getting. If nothing happened you’d just tell me that wouldn’t you?”

Candy looked over her shoulder with narrowed eyes. “You know you’re too smart to be working in a place like this. Too smart for your own good anyway.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means people who ask questions get into trouble. You should let it go.”

“If you think that’s going to get me to drop it, you’re mistaken.”